Lost in Darkness
by relena soulheart
Summary: Kaida couldn't understand what was going on with her lately. Who were these strangers in her dreams? What is her mother Maleficent hiding from her? And most of all, who is she really? My revision of Lost in the Dark. Rated T just to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

_**Hey guys! :)**_

_**Sorry for the **__**EXTREMELY**__** long wait. I've been pretty busy with schoolwork, but we all know how that is right?**_

_**Anyway, just as I promised, here is the new and improved version of my previous fanfic Lost in the Dark! Yay! **_

_**Hope you like it! Enjoy! :)**_

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

Everything was peacefully quiet outside of the grand Castle of Dreams. It was late in the evening as the guards patrolled the courtyard. But little did they realize that the peace and tranquility will be short-lived.

A guard standing at the castle gate struggled to stay awake, his eyes constantly wanting to close shut. Fatigue was about to overpower him when –

*snap!*

His eyes snapped wide open and scanned the area, but he could see nothing but the woods near the edge of the castle grounds.

Little did he know, he didn't see a blur of yellow and orange scale the castle wall and disappear to the other side. The mysterious figure landed softly in the shrubs and stealthily made her way toward the castle.

This lurking intruder was a young girl of about 15 years old with jet black hair tied in a ponytail that went just below her shoulders, slightly tan skin, and hazel brown eyes. She wore a yellow and orange sleeveless jacket over light blue tan top, black shorts that went halfway down her thighs with hot pink straps hanging on the sides, and knee-high jet black boots.

She quickly and quietly arrived near the castle entrance and hid behind the bushes when she saw a guard coming her way. The royal guard took no notice of her as he walked right by where she was hiding. The sound of flapping wings reached her ear and she glanced up to see a red parrot fly down and land next to her.

"Did you find her Iago?" she asked quietly.

"Sure did! You bet!," Iago said a little loudly.

"SSHHHH!" She slapped her hand over his beak and ducked down in the bush just as the guard from before turned around.

Curious, the guard slowly walked over to the bushes where the hazel-eyed intruder was hiding. Drawing out his sword, he reached out toward the bushes and yanked them away and prepared to strike.

But much to his surprise, there was nothing there except for a few red feathers.

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><p>The ravenette let out a breath she was holding as she closed the castle doors behind her. <em>That was too close!<em>

"Nice going birdbrain!" she grumbled, "You almost got us caught!"

Iago groaned and hung his head as he hovered in the air. "Sorry, Kaida."

The ravenette shook her head as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Of all ones sent to keep tabs on me, it had to be a bird with a beak larger than its body…" _Seriously, how in the world could Jafar tolerate him? _she thought to herself.

Kaida walked down the long hallway until noticed the large staircase leading up to the second level. "This way to the princess?" The parrot vigorously nodded.

The hazel-eyed teenager walked up the stairs and up ahead she saw a grand ballroom. Kaida quickly hid behind one of the pillars and glanced at the people inside. A beautiful young blonde woman in a silver gown was waltzing with a dashing young man with short dark brown hair and wearing a fancy suit. On the other end of the ballroom, a tall, skinny, black-haired man wearing a fancy blue suit and a monocle watched as the couple danced to the beautiful music.

Looking at the dancing couple, Kaida focused her eyes on the blonde in the silver dress. Sensing a bright light radiating from within that woman, the ravenette knew that she's the one she came here for.

Her hazel eyes widened slightly as the princess and prince were replaced by another couple, continually dancing to the waltz.

The woman had short blue hair, blue eyes, and pale skin. Her attire composed of a navy blue halter top with two pink intersecting straps over her chest pinned with a silver heart emblem, black shorts with two pieces of white cloth around the waist, white bell sleeves with small pieces of armor on them, tan fingerless gloves, pointed metal shoes, and black thigh high stockings.

Her dance partner was a young man about a year older than her with brown hair that stopped at the base of his neck, slightly tan skin, and royal blue eyes. He was dressed in a tight black shirt with two red intersecting straps across his chest and tan samurai pants with the gold heart emblem on his belt. He had a black wristband on his right arm and armor on his left shoulder and dark brown and gold metal boots.

Kaida shut her eyes and shook her head. When she opened them, she only saw the princess and the prince. "What the-?"

The princess and prince stopped dancing when the music ended and they finished with a bow and curtsy. The ravenette stayed behind the pillar as the couple and who she assumed is a duke exit the ballroom.

"Now your majesty, your father would like to see you in the throne room," the duke said, addressing the prince.

The prince nodded and then turned to the princess. "I'll be back soon Cinderella," he said. He then kissed her hand and went with the duke to attend business elsewhere.

Cinderella was just about to head out when Kaida came out from behind the pillar and clasped a hand over Cinderella's mouth and held her arms behind her back. The princess screamed, but Kaida's gloved hand muffled the blonde's voice.

"Pardon me Princess Cinderella. You're needed elsewhere." An eerie violet aura emitted from Kaida's hand that was covering Cinderella's mouth and within seconds, the princess's body grew limp and collapsed in Kaida's arms.

Kaida carefully threw the princess over her shoulder. "Way to go Kaida!" Iago hollered, "We got her!"

The ravenette winced at the volume of the parrot's voice and harshly shushed the loud parrot.

"What was that?"

Kaida went to the balcony and noticed a few guards and the duke were coming toward the staircase.

"Way to go you birdbrain!" Kaida hissed, "Come on, let's get out of here!"

Extending her hand in front of her while securing Cinderella with the other, she summoned a dark corridor and she and Iago managed to escape just before the guards could stop them.

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><p>A silver-haired boy laid unconscious on a stone platform, the reverse waterfalls roaring around him. His eyes then started to twitch and he slowly opened his eyes, revealing them to have an aquamarine color. "Where...am I?" he whispered, pushing himself off the ground.<p>

His eyes widened as if realization hit him.

"SORA!" he yelled, "KAIRI!"

He looked around him, only to find that he was alone. His eyes averted to the ground, a wave of disappointment and misery washing over him.

Little did he notice that a woman in black robes was watching him.

"How intriguing...he may be of use to us."

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><p><em><strong>Alrighty, I'm going to end it here because even though I wanted to add more, I didn't want to keep you waiting for too long. For any of you who read my original fanfic Lost in the Dark, you could guess what happens after this.<strong>_

_**Please favorite, follow, and/or review, especially review! I need some feedback so I can really make this story better. At least one or two reviews per chapter are most appreciated.**_

_**Until next time! Bye bye for now! :)**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Thank you Songbird Rebel and blissfulnightrain for following and reviewing, Songbird Rebel again for favoring, and princesslolitatheorca654 for reviewing! Really apprecitate it! :)**_

_**Here's chapter 2! Enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer: I only own my OC Kaida. Kingdom Hearts belongs to Square Enix.**_

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

Stepping out of the dark corridor, Kaida, along with Iago flying close to her, found herself in a different location: the Grand Hall of the castle at Hollow Bastion, her new home.

The large hall was filled with blue light from the bowls of blue fire on the walls. There was an elevated platform at the end of the hall with a multi-colored Heartless insignia above it. Glancing to her left and right, she looked at 6 human-sized capsules emitting an eerie blue glow. Two of them were occupied by two young women who appeared to be asleep and held in place by black tendrils wrapped around their bodies. One had long curly blond hair wearing a blue dress and a gold crown on her head; the other had brown hair styled into a ponytail with a small bun at the crown of her head and wore an elegant yellow ruffled ball gown and matching gloves.

Princess Aurora and Belle.

The ravenette took Cinderella to one of the empty pods and placed her inside, black tendrils instantly encasing the woman's body, holding her securely in place.

"Three down, and four more to go," she muttered. "Come on Iago. Let's report in."

"Okey dokey," Iago said, following Kaida down the hallway.

Kaida stopped after about a few stapes and turned around with a death glare. "Don't think you're off the hook, birdbrain. Consider yourself lucky I didn't roast you."

Iago recoiled fearfully. "I said I was sorry! Honest!"

Kaida let out an exasperated sigh as she continued walking. If it hadn't been for Iago's big beak, she would've gotten Cinderella no problem. But no thanks to her mother, she couldn't go anywhere by herself without having someone keep an eye on her. The hazel-eyed teenage girl had been let out on solo missions before, but only rarely; and whenever she had to "partner up" with someone, he/she would either get in the way or just annoy the life out of her.

_I've trained in combat and sorcery for ten years and she still doesn't think I can't handle things on my own?_ _The least she could do is pair me up with someone that doesn't have a brain the size of a raisin!_ she thought angrily.

Then her mind wandered to the couple she saw while she was watching Cinderella and the Prince dancing. The thought of seeing the bluenette and brunette brought a strange feeling in her heart. It felt…warm, and oddly nostalgic. Who were they? Why did thinking about them make her feel this way?

She glanced around as she arrived at the Lift Shop, catching a glimpse of the horizon of her present home, Hollow Bastion. The sky was cloudy and the sound of rushing water came from beneath the levitating piece of stone where the castle stood. Out in the barren lands, the hazel-eyed girl could make out a distant town, making her wonder about the people that once lived here. She never got the chance to explore it herself due to her training and her missions.

Aside from the change in landscape and the machinery around the castle, this world wasn't too different from her old home. It was almost the same to her: dark, mysterious, and gloomy.

After taking a few elevator lifts and walking down a few more hallways, she soon arrived at the Castle Chapel. Before she entered, Kaida heard voices talking from the other side of the wall concealing the hidden passage leading to the Grand Hall.

"That little squirt took down that heartless! Who'd of thought it?"

"Such is the power of the keyblade. The child's strength is not his own."

"Keyblade?" she whispered. Kaida looked to Iago, who had perched on her shoulder, and the red parrot only shrugged.

"Why don't we turn him into a heartless? Ha Ha! That'll settle things quick enough!"

"And the brat's friends are the King's lackeys. Swoggle me eyes, they're all bilge rats from the look of them."

"You're no prize yourself! HA HA HA!"

"Shut up!"

"ENOUGH!" That last voice nearly made Kaida and Iago jump. Of course she'd know that cold and malevolent voice anywhere. "The keyblade has chosen him. Will it be he who conquers the darkness, or will the darkness swallow him? Either way he could be quite useful."

Kaida took this as her cue to come in. Extending out her arm, a bright light flashed and was holding a key-like sword in her hand.

The red hand guard was the shape of a diamond, the body was a katana blade with a red dragon wrapped around it, and the teeth composed of two miniature daggers forming an X on the end. Hanging from the hilt was a throwing star with a heart shaped hole in the center.

Warrior's Spirit.

Pointing her weapon at the wall, she concentrated her power into the keyblade and a dark ray of light shot out of the tip and hit the wall, making it glow before vanishing into thin air. Stepping out, Kaida was greeted by the presence of five bizarre beings gathered around a table.

The first was a bluish grey man with sharp teeth and blue flames for hair. He wore a dark grey toga with smoke surrounding the hem. The second was an old skinny Arabian man with a black goatee and tanned skin holding a gold staff topped with a cobra's head; he had on a red and black robe and a matching turban with a red gem adorning it. The third was a fat lilac-skinned woman with eight maroon tentacles for legs, white hair, and a seashell necklace around her neck. The fourth was a pirate captain with a small black moustache and curly black hair wearing a fancy red suit and matching hat adorned with a large white feather; where his left hand used to be was a glistening metal hook. Last but not least, there was a large sack-like creature with eyes and a mouth that looked like they were cut out and stubby hands.

"Ah, Kaida, you've returned."

Said ravenette turned her attention to a woman in black robes with purple accents and respectfully bowed to her.

"Maleficent."

The woman had pale green skin, piercing yellow eyes, long red fingernails that resembled claws, and two black horns on her head. She held a long staff tipped with a green orb and a raven perched on her shoulder.

"I trust that your mission was a success?" she asked.

"You bet! There were no problems whatsoever!" Iago exclaimed as he flew over to the Arabian man's side.

"Yeah, no problem at all," Kaida said sarcastically, sending Iago a sideways glare.

"Is that so?" the Arabian man asked, cocking his eyebrow at the flinching parrot, "what exactly happened on your mission?"

Iago chuckled nervously. "W-well, uh, ya see…I…uh…to tell you the truth…"

Kaida rolled her eyes. "Long story short, Iago almost cost us the mission. Seriously Jafar, how is it that you haven't put that blabber beak out of his misery yet?"

The visor groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "That thought has been rather tempting at times, but Iago does have his usefulness despite his…flaws."

"Anyway, what's this I'm hearing about the keyblade?" Kaida asked.

Maleficent and Kaida turned their attention toward a projection on the table showing a young boy with spiky chestnut hair walking with an anamorphic duck and a goofy-looking dog. "It would seem that the keyblade had chosen this boy after his world had been swallowed by the Heartless."

"That's him? He doesn't look like much," Kaida scoffed, "must be some sort of fluke if you ask me."

"Do you think that kid and his pals will give us any trouble?" the sack creature inquired.

"Perhaps…but we shouldn't trouble ourselves with him just yet Oogie. He will be dealt with in due time."

"And what about our guest?" the half octopus woman asked.

"Aye, do you really think he may be of use to us?" the pirate captain asked.

Before she could ask who Ursula and Hook were referring to, Maleficent replied, "As long as he believes we will help him find his friends, he will be willing to aid us in our plans."

"Now Kaida, you may go and retire to your chambers for the night. Your questions regarding our new arrival will be answered tomorrow," she said to the ravenette, her expression then becoming stern, "but remember, you are to never leave the premises of the castle till your next mission. Is that understood?"

Kaida gave an apprehensive look and bowed her head. "I understand…mother."

Maleficent smiled and waved her hand as if to shoo the girl. "Off with you then," she ordered.

Once Kaida had left the chapel, Hades said, "I've got to hand it to you Maleficent that little raven never ceases to amaze me."

"Indeed, Kaida has shown great progress," Jafar stated, "I can sense the darkness in her heart growing even more."

Ursula then inquired, "But are you sure she won't find out the truth? Letting her out on these missions is risky."

"Fear not," Maleficent replied calmly, "with my training and magic, her loyalty lies with me and she will never learn of her…true history."

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><p><em><strong>Hope you guys like this chapter so far. Up next is when Kaida and Riku first meet and it's going to be different than when I wrote it in "Lost in the Dark".<strong>_

_**Please favorite, follow, and/or review! Remember, at least two reviews for each new chapter if you want the story to continue. :)**_

_**I'll try and update as soon as I can with whatever spare time I've got from school and whatnot. **_

_**Oh! And don't forget to check out my two other fanfics and vote on the poll as well!**_

_**Later taters! :D**_


	3. Author's Note

p style="text-align: center;"emstrongHey guys! I know that it's been a while since I posted for this fanfic, but I've been pretty busy with school lately. Plus I'm kinda focusing on another fanfic I'm working on for Halloween titled "Wolfblood."/strong/em/p  
>p style="text-align: center;"emstrongI'm sorry for those waiting so long for the next chapter, but I assure you I will put up Chapter 3 as soon as I can.strong/em/p  
>p style="text-align: center;"emstrongOh, I forgot to mention! In case for those who didn't see in my "Wolfblood" fanfic, I'm canceling my two reviews policy for all my fanfics and any other ones I may put up in the future. strong/em/p  
>p style="text-align: center;"emstrongAnyway, night everyone!strong/em/p  
>p style="text-align: center;"strongemThis is relena soulheart, signing off. :)em/strong/p 


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

_Two warriors faced each other, one a young woman with short blue hair and the other a young man with brown hair. Both wielded keyblades and stared at each other with an emotionless yet determined look. They got into fighting positions and after a few seconds, they ran straight toward each other and attacked. Sparks flew as their metal weapons clashed. Neither combatant backed down as they continued their violent dance. _

_As they continued attacking and evading, two teenagers materialized alongside them, copying the adults' movements. A girl with raven hair tied in a ponytail appeared next to the bluenette and a boy with shoulder-length silver hair appeared next to the brunette. The adolescents kept coming at each other in a flurry strikes and slashes as the older fighters faded away. _

_Both teens leapt away from each other to gain distance and their eyes locked as they returned to fighting position. The silvernette grinned evilly as darkness consumed him and a man with long silver hair wearing a black and white trench coat took his place. He crossed his arms over his chest triumphantly as a heartless sprung out from behind him and it knocked her to the ground with a swing of its demonic hand. _

_Kaida glared at him with pure hatred in her eyes as a small trail of blood dripped from the corner of her mouth. _

"_Pathetic," he leered. His heartless raised its claw over its head and slashed at her with a mighty roar._

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><p>"AH!" Kaida bolted upright in her bed as she woke up gasping and sweating, the events of the dream replaying inside her head. Looking around, she saw she was in her room.<p>

She placed a hand on her forehead as she slowed her breathing. "What was that?"

**BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!**

"OPEN UP!"

**BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!**

Kaida groaned as she stepped off her bed and went to answer the door. She opened it to reveal a large chubby black cat wearing a blue and red suit with a scowl on his face.

"Humph! About time you's awake!"

"I was already up thank you very much," she deadpanned, "what do you want?"

"Maleficent wants to see ya in the throne room, so you better git if you don't want to keep her waitin' on ya!"

Kaida nodded. "I'll be there." Just as she was about to close the door, she growled, "Next time you give me a wakeup call, don't try to break down my door, Captain Clutz, or else it won't be the only thing broken."

Pete stared at her indignantly. "Ha! I ain't afraid of you! And it's Captain Pete to you missy!" he huffed before storming off.

Just before closing the door, Kaida waved her hand. "_Spinis, surgere,_" she muttered. A bright red wisp escaped her fingertips and she quickly closed the door. Upon hearing a thunderous thud followed by a painful howl, Kaida smirked mischievously.

After putting on her jacket, boots, and gloves, Kaida took a quick look in the mirror as she tied her hair up. But while doing so, her reflection changed to the woman with short hair. She looked away for a moment and blinked before looking again, only to see her own reflection again.

"That's weird…" What's been going on with her lately?

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><p>"I'm tellin' ya Maleficent, that girl's nothin' but a heap of trouble! Why if it weren't for that fact that she's a-"<br>A creaking sound followed by a heavy clank interrupted Pete's rant as he and the evil fairy looked to the doors of the throne room. "Humph! Well speak of the devil…"

As Kaida approached the throne, she internally chuckled when she noticed the fat cat's face full of thorns. Pete glared at her, but she remained unfazed while maintaining her solemn demeanor. "You summoned me mother?"

Maleficent nodded. "I require your assistance regarding our new arrival. I have already sent him to Wonderland to retrieve the next Princess of Heart."

"But, isn't it my job to retrieve the princesses?" Kaida asked.

"Indeed it is. However, this boy will be of great use in achieving our goal, in more ways than one."

"So what are you asking me to do?"

"Go to Wonderland. Make sure that he succeeds on his mission. Should he run into any trouble, assist him in any way you can. You will know who he is once you find him."

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. It was bad enough that she's always paired up with snobby, annoying, meddling partners on her missions, but now she's tasked with babysitting this new recruit!

Nevertheless, she knew better than to cross her mother. "Yes, mother," she said, bowing to her before leaving the throne room.

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><p>Stepping out of the corridor of darkness, Kaida walked through a dense forest filled with strange looking trees.<p>

"Alrighty, if I'm going to find the new guy, I'm gonna have to find the princess first," she said to herself. As she walked through the woods, she came upon a sign nailed to one of the trees.

"'Tulgey Wood,'" she read, "Interesting name…"

As she wandered aimlessly through the confusing woods, she couldn't help but noticed the strange fauna that inhabited them. There were creatures that looked like walking glasses, birds with cages for a body, even owls with accordion necks.

"This place gets weirder by the minute," she mumbled.

Banging sounds reached her ears and Kaida noticed four birds working on a sign. Two of them were using their hammer heads to nail the wood onto the tree and then the other two used their pencil beaks to write on it along with the other signs near it.

"Don't, step, on, the momeraths," she said, reading the signs as the birds wrote. "Momeraths?"

A cluster of colorful puffballs suddenly sprouted eyes and legs at her feet and scattered all around until they gathered into a shape of an arrow pointing to another path. If that's where she has to go, might as well take it.

As Kaida trudged along the path, her mind drifted to the dream from last night. She knew she never seen those people before: the two keybalde wielders, the boy with silver hair, and the man manipulating the Heartless. But for some strange reason, she felt that familiar vibe again with not just the two warriors, but also with the man who overtook the boy.

She shook her head. _What the heck is going on?_

Kaida stopped in her tracks when she heard light scraping up ahead. Coming her way was a dog with a broom for a head and another for a tail, and it was sweeping away the path! When it reached her, it simply walked around and continued erasing the rest of the path.

"Great! Just great," she groaned, "Now which way do I go?" There was nothing but dense forest all around her.

"_'Twas Brillig and the slithy toves, Did gyre and gimble in the wabe_," a peculiar voice sang.

Kaida summoned Warrior's Spirit and raised it in defense as she scanned the area. "Who's there?!"

"_All mimsy were the borogoves and the mome raths outgrabe_." A pair of round yellow eyes appeared in one of the trees, followed by a sly toothy grin and finally a purple and pink striped feline body.

"You're a cat?" Kaida arched a bewildered brow as she lowered her weapon, though her guard was still up.

The cat lifted its ears up with his tail as if it were a hat. "A Cheshire Cat. And who may you be? Another lost soul perhaps?"

"I'm not lost," she said, "and what do you mean by another lost soul?"

"Why say you are not lost when you don't even know where to go?" he said cryptically, "And there are many souls who are lost. Though some are lost in more ways than one. Now, I believe I heard you were looking for someone you call a 'Princess of Heart', per say?" Kaida looked at him in alarm. The Cheshire Cat chuckled, "You aren't the only one looking for her."

_He must be talking about the recruit Maleficent sent earlier,_ she thought.

"Funny how Alice is a Princess of Heart while there is already a Queen. After all, all ways here are the QUEEN'S WAYS!" he bellowed in a deep voice while shaping his ears into a crown.

"Where can I find her?" Kaida asked, dispelling her keyblade.

The Cheshire Cat stood on his hind legs and pointed left as he jogged in place. "Some go this way." He changed direction and pointed right. "Some go that way." He stopped and leaned one hand against the tree stump. "But as for me, personally, I prefer the shortcut."

The cryptic feline pulled down one of the branches to reveal a hidden passage in the tree before vanishing into thin air. Reluctantly, the ravenette stepped through and found herself in a vast garden maze. The green, leafy walls extended into multiple directions, creating numerous passageways as the smell of roses filled the air.

"OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!" a voice screamed, almost loud enough to shake the entire garden. The sounds of battle filled the air and Kaida wasted no time to follow them to the source. Though it wasn't easy navigating through the green, floral labyrinth.

After turning the next corner, she spotted two people running down another path away from the hullabaloo. She didn't get a good look at them, but she could sense a strong light coming from one of them. "The princess…" She picked up the pace and quickly went after them.

Many crazy turns later, Kaida made it out of the garden maze and back in the woods. Though in this part of the woods, the flora were larger and taller than the ravenette. "Now where'd they go?" she grumbled.

A high-pitched scream rung through the trees. Kaida ran with keyblade in her gloved hand towards the noise until she found a clearing where a battle was taking place. A group of wild Sergeant and Soldier Heartless were surrounding a young girl with blonde hair pulled back by a black headband and wearing a baby blue dress with a white apron.

_That must be her,_ the raven-haired wielder thought, sensing a strong light coming from her. But her hazel eyes grew wide in shock when she saw person standing protectively in front of the princess.

A boy with silver hair just above his shoulders remained focused on the Heartless as he kept them from getting closer. He wore a tight sleeveless yellow shirt that was black on the back with overlapping black straps on his chest, indigo pants, yellow and white sneakers, and black gloves on his hands. In his grasp was a mahogany and indigo blade in the shape of a bat's wing and a teal demonic eye near the base of the hilt.

"No way…" There was no doubt in her mind that it was him, the boy from her dream last night.

As he continued to fend off dark creatures, he didn't notice Alice sneaking away when she saw an opening. When he did, he tried to go after her, but the Heartless had him completely surrounded.

"Oh no you don't," Kaida growled under her breath. She chased after the princess.

"Fire!" A wall of flames blocked off Alice's escape. The young blonde gasped as she stopped running and spun around to face the ravenette approaching her. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Halt!" The sound of drawn metal from behind made Kaida glance behind her. A troop of card soldiers standing a few feet away were pointing their lances at her back. "You and the defendant are under arrest!" a red soldier bearing an ace of hearts commanded.

Kaida quirked an eyebrow. "Really?" she asked, her back still facing the soldiers, "whatever for?"

"That girl is guilty of assault and attempted theft of her majesty's heart. As for you, you will be taken in as her accomplice," a black card with a four of spades said.

Unbeknownst to them, a presence remained hidden in the tall grass as he watched the scene unfold.

The ravenette chuckled dryly. "Is that so?" She turned to face them. "Then tell your queen she won't have to worry about this girl anymore." And with a snap of her fingers, a dark hole appeared under Alice's feet and the blonde princess screamed as she fell in.

The soldiers jumped back in shock before one of them demanded, "What did you do?!"

"Nothing really," she replied nonchalantly, then smirked, "I simply sent her somewhere you'll never find her."

The soldiers didn't waste a second as they all surrounded the ravenette, their lances up and pointed at her. Her eyes wandered from one card to the next in what appeared to be fear and her head sank to her shoulders.

_What is she doing? _the boy wondered, perplexed by her actions as he watched.

The soldiers lowered their weapons, thinking that the girl is giving herself up. A low, eerie chuckle escaped her lips, catching them off guard as they gripped their lances tight once more. "Oh, what's a poor girl to do?" she said in feign hurt. When she looked up, a collective horrified gasp came out when the soldiers jumped back in fear at what they saw.

Her once hazel eyes were now burning a bright gold color as she grinned maliciously at her supposed 'captors'. "If this is how you want to play," she hummed wickedly as she raised Warrior's Spirit, now laced with shadows, in front of her, "…let's play."

Though he was still terrified, a three of clovers made the first move and charged at the girl. Her eyes focused on the incoming assailant, she quickly sidestepped and fired a dark fireball at him the moment he was off balance. The soldier cried out painfully as the shot burned his back and he fell to the ground unconscious.

Three red cards came at her, but with one swipe of her blade, dark red waves of cut through the air and knocked them into a tree, which fell to the ground with a thud. A few of the remaining soldiers attacked the powerful female while those who stayed frozen in their place watched in horror as their comrades failed to take her down. As Kaida continued to counter each attacker with a deadly swipe of her keyblade or a blast of her magic, a dark aura glowed around her body and only seemed to grow stronger as she kept attacking.

It wasn't long until the ground littered with fallen cards. While some were covered in dirt, bruises, and burns, there were few with large gash marks on them, making them look literately torn to pieces. Kaida, still pulsating with darkness, grinned maliciously at her work.

"Now, unless you all wish to take another go at me, I suggest you all run," she threatened, "Otherwise…" Extending her hand to the side, she made a gesture as if raising something up and a black soldier with an ace of spades floated into the air above her. Her gold eyes glowed and dark tendrils circled around the injured soldier. The others watched in absolute horror as a dark black substance creeped up the soldier's body, consuming it with every inch that it crawled.

Petrified, the soldiers used whatever strength they had left and fled, screaming and crying out in fear. Kaida's eyes returned to their normal hazel hue as the dark aura vanished and her victim was released from her spell, landing back on the ground before getting on his feet and dashing away.

Kaida exhaled deeply. "That took a lot out of me," she muttered, feeling her energy has been drained a bit. Eyeing the grass warily, she bluntly said, "You can come out now."

Shocked that she knew he was there, the silvernette slowly came out from his hiding spot and walked up to her. He was rather impressed and frightened by her power, how she utilized it to easily take down the soldiers. Where did it come from? How was she able to harness it?

"If you're done gaping like a fish at me," she said, snapping him out of his stupor, "let's head back."

"Back where?" he asked.

"To Hollow Bastion," she replied, as if were completely obvious.

"But what about-?"

"The princess is fine. I sent her there when those soldiers intervened." Her hand out in front of her, she summoned a dark corridor and glanced back at the silvernette. "You coming?"

He was hesitant at first, but then made his way to the portal. As Kaida kept her gaze on the silvernette, she could sense the darkness in his heart. Though there was a small amount, there was something about it that seemed…different than any other dark hearts she had encountered. Pushing that thought aside, Kaida stepped in after him.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sorry for the long wait! I know that it's been…GEEZ! A MONTH?! I AM SO SORRY! DX<strong>_

_**I have been suffering from both cases of writer's block and excesshomeworkitis for the past month and I've been using whatever free time I had to work on this next chapter. **_

_**Hope you all liked it! :) (Please do!)**_

_**Don't forget to favorite, follow, and/or review! And if I don't update within the next two weeks, hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!**_

_**Later taters!**_


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